Skinny trunk palm suggestions?

[Merlyn]

After cutting down one dead Queen last week, I am now dreading cutting down the other 4 or 5 that appear to be also infected with Thielaviopsis.  This will leave the West side of my house open to the blazing afternoon sun, and I was kind of hoping that wouldn't happen for at least a few more years.  As a possible replacement, I'm considering some skinny trunk palms that might give a bit of shade, but also not be ridiculously difficult to cut down and dispose of at some later date.  The Queens are a solid 10+ inches in diameter at 20 feet tall, and that's a real pain to cut and dispose of.  The crowns are also really huge, and ripped up the soffits during the last hurricane.  The thing I'm struggling with is finding something that'll reliably survive frost in the mid 20s (even if it's partially defoliated), moderately quick growing, and is happy in full sun.  A couple that I've thought of:

• Caryota mitis - aggressively clustering, but fairly compact footprint and the overall crown is not too huge.  I have one on the East side, it lost most trunks at 26F with frost, but was fairly easy to prune out the dead trunks.  It grew back fast, and I like the fishtail leaves.
• Ptychosperma Elegans - neat thin trunks and small crown, but appears to defoliate around 28F and dies by 25F.
• Acoelorrhaphe Wrightii - definitely hardy enough and small trunks and crowns, but would take decades to throw any shade on the West wall.
• Ptychosperma Macarthurii or Schefferi - possibly hardier than Elegans, I'm trying both out in the front yard.  Two small ones 2-3' tall got burned to the ground at 26F with frost, but grew back.
• Arenga Engleri - hardy enough too, but generally top out at 10-15' tall and wouldn't throw shade for the 25' tall roof peak.
• Archontophoenix - maybe hardy enough, I have several in the front yard as experiments.  The 12ish inch trunk diameter is probably too big for this spot.
• Veitchia Arecina - serious damage with any frost, even in the mid 30s.  It's a neat palm, but probably wouldn't survive.
• Wodyetia Bifurcata - I have a single and a triple foxtail on the far right of the below photo.  They aren't very bud-hardy in my yard, and the trunks start getting pretty stout.
• Adonidia Merrillii - wimps in my area, my first triple died after the first 30F frost.
• Burretiokentia Hapala - minor damage in the upper 20s, but I'm not sure if it's a full sun palm in FL?
• Carpentaria Acuminata - fast growing with serious damage around 25F, but maybe hardy in the upper 20s?  This could be a neat option!
• Cyphophoenix Elegans / Alba / Nucele - probably all hardy enough but very slow
• Dictyosperma Album / Rubrum - all died in my yard after various upper 20s freezes.
• Dypsis/Chrysalidocarpus - I have surviving Arenarum, Cabadae, Decaryi, Lanceolata, Lastelliana, Leptocheilos, Lutescens, Madagascariensis, and Pembana.  None have been particularly hardy, and tend to get crown or trunk rots after cold fronts.  The 15' Pembana cluster was easy to remove when it got fatally damaged at around 26F, so I might consider them.
• Leucothrinax Morrisii - pretty hardy, slim trunk and a pretty palm - but very slow.
• Normanbya Normanbyi - a thinner, hardier, slower foxtail?

Here's a photo of the existing wall, with the tall queens showing fairly rapid/early frond death.  I already beheaded the one on the far left, you can just make out the 12" diameter trunk to the right side of the Chinensis.  I *suspect* that the three middle tallest ones are already infected, as they have fronds sticking out above horizontal that are already dead.  As you can see from the sun angle, they aren't really helping to shade the big wall anyway.

Any suggestions either on or off my above list? 

[idontknowhatnametuse]

Could Chamaedorea costaricana grow in your soil?

[Merlyn]

1 hour ago, idontknowhatnametuse said:

Could Chamaedorea costaricana grow in your soil?

That's a good question, I don't know.  Some Chamaedorea die here, but Elegans, Glaucifolia, Ernesti-Augusti, Oblongata and others do just fine.  The Palmpedia page says filtered light only, but there's a photo of a pretty healthy looking one in full sun in CA.  I like Costaricana a lot better than Seifrizii.  Tepejilote is supposed to do well in full shade in South FL, but Costaricana might not:

 

[SeanK]

Cheapest thing will be a row of cabbage palms. Instant gratification with a FL native.

[D. Morrowii]

@Merlyn What about Livistona decora? 
 

Also here is a list of some from a thread last year. 

 

[Merlyn]

@D. Morrowii I knew that there was a thread with a good list!  I even commented on it a couple of times, durrrr....thanks! 

I think Livistona all get into the "too big" category like Queens and Sabals.  They are all easily 12+ inches in diameter.  I was thinking more along your "skinny" category in the 3-5" range...but definitely less than the 10" category.

I'd consider doing a bamboo in the area, except that I've seen the tops whip around waaaaay too far in hurricanes.  During Ian the big boos in the backyard bent over nearly 45 degrees.  I suspect the "wispy thin" category would do the same if they were out in the open.

[D. Morrowii]

Yep it seems like skinny, tall, fast and frost resistant is a tough order. Maybe an Archie is the way to go?
I can say that Normanbya normanbyi hasn’t been terribly fast but it is skinny. I think mine is still suffering from sunburn but I ‘m hoping it comes around. 

[bubba]

Ptychosperma elegans:

 

Edited April 29 by bubba
Corrupt information system

[bubba]

How about a boat lode of Chamadorea metallica!

[Merlyn]

3 hours ago, bubba said:

How about a boat lode of Chamadorea metallica!

Hah, that would work except that they need shade here.  I also lost my triple to a ~26F with frost, they all got bud rot and died. 

My Foxtail triple and solo are now completely without canopy in the SW side of the house.  They did have a 70' tall oak overhead and Viburnum around them, so were reasonably protected from heavy frost and high winds.  The next time I get into the upper 20s will be an interesting test! 

@D. Morrowii where did you get your Normanbyi?  From an old post by Eric at Leu Gardens: "Back in winter 95-96, we had several light freezes scattered over late Dec. to Feb. Feb. had one night at 26F. At the house I was renting then I had a Normanbya and Wodyetia, both about 3ft tall, growing side by side. The Wodyetia was defoliated, the Normanbya wasn't damaged."

A couple of other reasonably hardy options are Dypsis/Chrysalidocarpus Arenarum (survived brutal 24.4F at my place), Psammophilus (no damage at the 2009 extended 29F at Leu Gardens, but under canopy), and possibly Basilongus or Saintelucei.  There's limited info about the last two, but they are interesting looking!

@D. Morrowii another one you might consider is Lytocaryum Insigne.  Supposedly it's hardy and can handle full sun in FL.

 

[D. Morrowii]

@Merlyn I got my first one (in the ground with 24” of trunk now) from a local plant sale. I got 2 more from Floribunda a year ago in 4” pots and they are in 2 gals now.. I left the in ground one to fend for itself for the 2022 Christmas cold front and it wasn't effected at all. It only got down to 31F here though. 
Thanks for the suggestion! I’ll stay on the lookout for a Lytocaryum insigne. Looks like a good skinny trunk option.